"Russia called upon twelve states which the coming of the treaty into force depends upon to do so without delay and without any preliminary conditions", the information and press department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia reported on Tuesday.

At the third conference on assistance to coming the comprehensive nuclear tests ban treaty into force which ended in Vienna on September 5 the Russian delegation expressed grave concern over the fate of the treaty, the Foreign Ministry officials noted.

The comprehensive nuclear tests ban treaty was adopted in New York in September 1996. By today 168 states have signed it, and the parliaments of 104 countries have ratified it. As many as 32 out of the 44 states which have nuclear programmes and whose decision the coming of the treaty into force depends on have ratified the treaty. It is necessary to receive instruments of ratification from the USA, China, Colombia, the DPRK, the Congo, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and Vietnam.